Top Turkish Diplomat Meets With French, UK Counterparts

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Tuesday separately met with his French and UK counterparts in Brussels to discuss regional issues.

Following his meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, Cavusoglu, who is in Brussels for a NATO foreign ministers' meeting, said on Twitter: "We will host the Joint Economic and Trade Committee meeting and Business Forum. Our talks on regional issues, including Syria and Libya, will continue."

Syria has been ravaged by a civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protesters. Based on UN estimates, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million displaced.

According to the UN-led roadmap for the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, President Mohamed Menfi, Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, and the incoming administration are expected to lead the country to elections by Dec. 24, 2021.

Libyans hope that this will end years of civil war that have engulfed the country since the ouster and killing of strongman Muammar al-Qaddafi in 2011.

Separately, Cavusoglu met with his UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

"Wishing to broaden the scope of the Free Trade Agreement and reach bilateral trade target of $20 billion. Discussed developments in #Cyprus, #EasternMediterranean and #Libya," Cavusoglu said in a Twitter post.

Last year, Turkey and the UK signed a historic free trade agreement, without which about 75% of Turkish exports to the UK would have been subject to tariffs, causing losses of some $2.4 billion.

Turkey, which has the longest continental coastline in the Eastern Mediterranean, has rejected maritime boundary claims by EU members Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, stressing that their excessive claims violate the sovereign rights of Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots.

Turkish leaders have repeatedly stressed that Ankara is in favor of resolving outstanding problems in the region through international law, good neighborly relations, dialogue, and negotiations. -